Commonly, homes and other buildings include a roof which overhangs the side walls of the building by a certain distance. The undersides of such a roof overhang, also known as roof eaves, are typically covered with an exterior grade material in order to hide roof support members from view, and to close exterior access to the attic space formed between the roof and the building's interior ceiling. The material used to cover the eaves is generally known as the roof soffit. The soffit extends between the building's exterior wall and the edge of the roof, this edge or border also being known as the roof fascia. The roof fascia may be a separate member independent of the soffit, and to which the soffit material is secured. Alternatively, the roof fascia may be formed by an extension of the soffit material which is then fastened to the ends of roof support members. Ventilation is usually provided by positioning vents, or openings, along the soffit to allow air flow into the attic space.
Conventional soffits are installed under roof eaves so that the soffit pieces run perpendicularly between the side wall of the building and the roof fascia. Such installation requires that skilled workers measure, cut, and interlock many short soffit panels to finish the entire eave along a building's exterior wall. This process is labor intensive, requires highly skilled workers, and consumes much time. Accordingly, the conventional process of installing soffit is quite laborious and expensive. The present invention results in significant savings over conventional soffit installations, particularly when the soffit panel disclosed herein is formed on-site at the construction project, and in a length sufficient to provide a single continuous soffit panel for an entire roof eave of a building.